An employee of Nirmal Hriday, was apprehended based on a complaint filed by Rupa Verma, the chairperson of Child Welfare Committee, Ranchi.

A female staffer has been arrested and two others, including a sister-in-charge, were detained for allegedly "selling" a child born to an inmate of a shelter home, run by Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charity at Jail road in Ranchi.

An employee of Nirmal Hriday, was arrested based on a complaint filed by Rupa Verma, the chairperson of Child Welfare Committee's Ranchi unit, Kotwali police station officer in-charge Shyamanand Mandal said.

"One person was arrested yesterday in connection with the shelter home case. Another arrest is also likely. We are investigating into the allegations," Mr Mandal added.

In her complaint, Ms Verma said that a couple from Uttar Pradesh's Shone Bhadra district had approached the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) after Nirmal Hriday allegedly took away the child it had earlier given them on May 14.

The couple apparently told Ms Verma that they had paid Rs 1.2 lakh on May 1 to get the boy's custody.

Speaking with news agency PTI, the chairperson of Ranchi Child Welfare Committee said that the UP-based family claimed that the employee, who handed over the child to them on May 14, had called them up on July 1 and asked them to visit the shelter home for completing certain formalities. When the child was brought to the home, the employee took the boy away.

Ms Verma also clarified that Indwar had called up the couple a day after the Child Welfare Committee carried out a surprise check at Nirmal Hriday and seized important documents. "The couple, with no help in sight, knocked our doors for help. The boy is in custody of CWC at present," she said, adding that a baby-selling racket had been operating from the shelter home for some time.